I haven't participated in this before, but I just read about how it worked, and I'd like to participate this time. 10 grams of 5 teas sounds like a good amount. If it had to change, I think more, smaller samples is better than fewer, bigger ones, because there's more variety to try.

I think it would be good to focus on very narrow categories and try several very similar teas (like "long jing" rather than "Chinese green"), to get a sense of what a particular "genre" of tea is about.

There will be all sorts of possible themes. So there would likely be a Long Jing Round (great idea!) but also a round featuring select types of Chinese Greens, there is room and interest in both ideas ... I think.

Definitely like the "tea flight" approach. The 10g x 5 teas is perfect IMO. I already have brewing vessels appropriate to 5g tasting sessions, and 2 tries is usually enough for me to know if I like the style, or wish to purchase more of a particular tea.

Also, I buy a fair amount of my favorite teas, so I'm not sure how much I'd want to participate if it involved a large(r) quantity (say 30g each) of only one or two teas. Practically speaking, the beauty of tastings is they are low risk. Yeah, per serving they might cost a wee bit more (although 50g for $7-10 is a helluva steal,) but if it's a bust, you're not out much on any single tea.

I also would vote for 10g samples of 4-5 teas. At that quantity I can do a couple of the smaller 2-3 g brewings I do most often, get an idea of the sweet spot for each of the teas, and then do at least one head-to-head of 3-4 teas at a time.

At the moment I am so busy working my way through what I have that I have not been signing up for recent rounds, but I hope to participate again in the future. The Round I shincha experience was great.

I think it's great right now as it is. I'd take a couple more grams (10g, as opposed to the previous 8g), but don't need any more than that. I'd much rather get to try 5 teas once or twice, than one or two teas multiple times.

might be nice to have an occasional otti where one, or maybe two, large samples replace the 5 or 6 small ones. There's a lot to be said for getting to know a particular tea, but I can't be bothered saying it.